I can vividly remember the day I first learned of magic.

It was one of those familiar summer days; the type where it looked as though at any minute, rain would start pouring down from heavy clouds. I had wanted to go to the playground on the outskirts of Spinner's End. It was usually deserted, and while Petunia deemed the place "creepy", it held a certain charm for me. Mummy hadn't wanted to let us go, seeing as it could start pouring down rain at any moment, but she eventually gave us permission.

Petunia and I set out along the dusty path from our little house towards the deserted playground. The day was muggy and still slightly full of the typical English fog. The playground was, as I had guessed, completely empty. The equipment was a bit rusty, and the swings creaked eerily in the slight breeze. The swings were my favorite. I loved the thrill of swinging high over the playground, the feeling that I was flying, and the familiar drop in my stomach as I went too high and came crashing down. I clambered onto the nearest swing and Petunia grabbed the one next to me. I started to move back and forth in the swing, pumping my legs so as to gain altitude. I swung higher and higher.

"Lily, don't do it!" Petunia shrieked at me.

I ignored her admonishments and continued to swing. At the very height of my swing's arc, I let go, and flew into the air. I released a great shout of laughter and landed on the asphalt, far too lightly. I had done this before, and Tuney had tattled to Mummy. But I didn't care that what I was doing was forbidden. It was exhilarating!

"Mummy told you not to!" Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals along the ground and leapt up, hands on hips. "Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"

"But I'm fine," I laughed. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."

I loved to show off for her. I could tell that it irritated her, but I couldn't help myself. I picked up a fallen flower from the ground in front of a leafy green bush. Tuney advanced slowly, with a look of disapproval on her face. I held out my hand to her, with the flower nestled in my palm. It sat there, opening and closing its petals, rather like a bizarre oyster.

"Stop it!" shrieked Petunia.

"It's not hurting you," I said, but threw the flower on the ground. Her eyes followed it and lingered upon it.

"It's not right," said Petunia. "How do you do it?" she added, and I could hear the longing in her voice. I flushed a little, knowing that she was jealous, and that I had made her so on purpose. Then a voice startled me out of my thoughts. A new voice; one that I did not recognize.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" A sallow looking boy, of about nine or ten, had jumped out from behind the bushes. Petunia yelled and ran backward toward the swings. I jumped, scared out of my wits, and froze, right where I was. Then I remember the boy's question.

"What's obvious?" I asked.

The boy lowered his voice and said, "I know what you are."

Well, that made no sense. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're...you're a witch," whispered the boy. I felt completely insulted. Mummy had read Tuney and I bedtime stories with witches in them. They were always the bad people, always the one trying to hurt the hero and steal his happiness. They were ugly and green, with warts on their long, crooked noses and rode around on broomsticks. Completely ridiculous that I could be one, of course. Anyway, last time I had checked, I had red hair and the only thing green about me were my eyes. The same as my father's. There was no way I was a witch.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" I whirled around, nose in the air, and marched off toward Petunia.

"No!" yelled the boy.

Petunia and I considered him. I could almost detect the disdain coming in waves from her, but I felt a bit of curiousity toward the boy in his ridiculously large coat.

"You are," said the boy to me. "You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

Petunia's laugh was like cold water.

"Wizard!" she shrieked, her courage returned. "I know who you are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told me. "Why have you been spying on us?"

The sun came out from behind the clouds and doused us all in bright sunlight just in time for the Snape boy to say, "Haven't been spying. Wouldn't spy on you, anyway," he added spitefully, "you're a Muggle."

I didn't understand what the boy meant by "Muggle", but I could tell from his tone that it wasn't complimentary.

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" Tuney said shrilly. I followed her out of the playground gate, glaring at Snape as I went. We diligently trudged along the beaten path home. Immediately after we entered the house, Petunia began complaining loudly to Mummy about the Snape boy and how "dodgy kids like him should be kept away from decent children like us. After all it was only sensible..." I didn't really agree with her. I knew that I wanted to find out more about this "wizard" stuff. Snape's words had sparked my curiousity and I was determined to know more.

The next day, I decided that the best way to get more information about the so-called wizardry would be to question Snape. I had no idea where he lived, except that it was somewhere in Spinner's End, which was not incredibly helpful, considering the size of the place. So, I decided that I would go back to the playground in the hope that he would be there. I knew that Tuney would be livid if she knew that I planned to go back; so I would try to slip outside while Mummy was doing her usual grocery shopping and Petunia was watching her favourite Saturday cartoons in the lounge. In the middle of the afternoon, I tiptoed downstairs and past the lounge. Just as I was about to reach the front door, I stepped on the creaky floorboard. I winced and desperately hoped that she hadn't heard.

"Lily?" Oh, bugger. She'd heard.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, nowhere..." I hoped that she would believe me. No such luck.

"Don't give me that rubbish! I'm not an idiot. Come in here." I slowly walked back to where she was, bracing myself for her inevitable tirade. "Now, where were you going? And don't lie this time."

"I wasn't going anywhere." I knew she would see right through this lie, and I was right.

"Didn't I just say not to lie to me? I can tell when you're lying, Lil. I'm not stupid!" She was getting irritated.

"Could have fooled me..." I muttered, then hurried ahead with my answer, knowing she would not appreciate my wit. "I was just going down to the playground again."

"Why?" Gosh, doesn't she ever stop asking questions? "Don't tell me you were going to talk to that Snape boy about the wizard stuff. I already told you that it doesn't exist!"

"Well, I'm going anyway."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"I'll tell Mummy." she threatened. As if I cared.

"You do that." Then I turned on my heel and walked out the door, her predictions that I would be kidnapped or worse still ringing in my ears. I ran most of the way to the playground and once again climbed onto the swings. I swung there for a bit, quickly getting bored. Finally, after what seemed like hours, I heard a rustle coming from the bushes. The boy stepped out into the sunlight, looking slightly awkward in his shabby coat and odd smocklike shirt.

"Hullo," he said.

"Hi," I said breathlessly. I slid off of the swing and stood in front of him.

"I'm Severus...Severus Snape." His features twisted slightly as he smiled at me.

"I'm Lily Evans." We stood there in silence for a couple minutes, neither knowing what to say next. Finally, I blurted, "Can you tell me about the wizardry stuff?"

He looked taken aback at my forwardness, but complied eagerly. "There's this school, see? It's called Hogwarts. And you go there when you turn eleven and learn more about magic! Like, how to use it and control it. Stuff like that."

"But how did I get magic?" I asked.

"I dunno. It just happens, I suppose." He beckoned to me to follow him and he led me to a small thicket of trees. He settled down on the ground and I sat cross-legged in front of him. He told me what Muggles were (non-magical people), about his family: his witch mother and Muggle father, about Hogwarts, and about Houses. I had never been more fascinated with anything. The idea that an entire world existed inside the one I knew caught hold of me. I listened raptly as he waxed eloquent about the finer points of the magical world.

"There's a Ministry of Magic and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters." he said.

"But I have done magic outside school!" I replied. What if they dragged me off to jail?

"We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," he nodded importantly, "and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

There was a little silence. I picked up a twig lying at my feet and twirled it in the air, imagining that there were sparks trailing from it. Then I dropped it and leaned in toward Severus and said, "It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"

"It's real for us," said Severus. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."

"Really?" I whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

"Definitely," he answered me.

"And will it really come by owl?" I asked.

"Normally, but you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents." said Severus.

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" This had been worrying me quite a lot as the conversation wore on. He had mentioned a lot about old wizarding families, and I wondered if I would worse off than the rest of them.

Severus hesitated. But finally, "No, it doesn't make any difference."

"Good." I let out an audible breath of relief.

"You've got loads of magic," said Severus. "I saw that. All the time I was watching you..." His voice trailed away, but I wasn't really listening. I stretched out on the leafy ground and looked up into the canopy of leaves overhead, my mind lost in daydreams of magic. Magic. It was real. And I was special, somehow. Eventually, I snapped myself out of my reverie and asked, "How are things at your house?"

"Fine." he answered shortly. I was not to be put off.

"They're not arguing anymore?"

"Oh yes, they're arguing," he said. "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?" I inquired.

"He doesn't like anything, much." He obviously wasn't very keen on discussing his parents so I discreetly changed the subject.

"Severus?"

He smiled at me. "Yeah?"

"Tell me about the dementors again."

"What d'you want to know about them for?"

I quickly made up an excuse for my sudden interest in something so creepy as dementors. "If I use magic outside school -"

"They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too -"

He turned red and started shredding leaves. Then a small rustling noise behind me made me turn around: Petunia, hiding behind a tree, had lost her footing.

"Tuney!" I exclaimed, surprised but delighted to see her. Severus jumped to his feet.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?" Tuney was embarrassed at being caught, I could tell.

"What's that you're wearing, anyway? Your mum's blouse?" she scorned. There was a loud crack and a large branch over Petunia's head fell and caught her on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears.

"Tuney!" My inquiries as to whether she was all right died on my lips as she ran away. I rounded on Severus. "Did you make that happen?"

"No." He looked both defiant and scared.

"You did!" I backed away from him in disgust. "You did! You hurt her!"

"No - no I didn't!" He protested, loudly. He was lying, that much was obvious. I glared at him fiercely and whirled around and ran after Tuney. I was a fast runner and caught up with her rather quickly.

"Tuney! Wait up!"

"No! Go away, Lily!" I ran up next her and grabbed her hand. She tried to pull away, but I turned her around to face me. There were tears streaked down her pale face, and she looked furious.

"Tuney! Listen to me! I told him not to; it wasn't my fault. You shouldn't be mad at me!"

"Well, I am mad at you, Lily! I told you not to get involved in that rubbish. Didn't I tell you?" She snarled.

"Yes, you did, but -" She wrenched her arm out of my grasp and walked furiously up the path, away from me. "Tuney! Please listen to me!"

"I'm done trying to listen to you. I've had enough trouble from you for one day!" She broke into a run then. I walked slowly after her, recognizing a lost cause when I saw one.

When I reached the house, there was Petunia furiously retelling the day's events to Mum.

"...and then she did something and this great tree fell on me!"

"It wasn't a tree! It was a branch, and not a very big one at that!" Mum glared at me and motioned for Petunia to continue. I ignored Mum's glare and continued, "And it wasn't my fault! I already told you, it was Severus! I wouldn't do something like that!"

"Lily." Mum warned me. "I'm trying to listen to Petunia."

"Yeah? Well, she's lying to you to get me in trouble!" I retorted.

"I am not lying!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you -"

"Girls!" I turned guiltily to meet my mother's glare. "I have heard quite enough from both of you!"

"But Mum..." Petunia whined. Mummy silenced her with a look.

"Go upstairs, both of you. We'll discuss this later."

Petunia stomped upstairs and I followed behind her. I knew that any later discussion we would have on the subject of magic and Severus Snape could hold no good for me. I had, after all, practically run away from Petunia earlier this afternoon, and I had done magic yesterday on the swings, which Mummy had expressly forbidden.

Sure enough, I came out of the discussion with two weeks of punishment, but otherwise unscathed. Petunia wasn't happy that I wasn't in more trouble, but she overcame her attitude toward me, and we made up while brushing our teeth for bed.

True to Severus's prediction, someone that looked unusual did make an appearance at my house. The doorbell rang rather early in the morning, four days later. I was up early, for once, and was rooting through mounds of clean laundry to find my purple jumper when the doorbell rang. I jumped about five feet into the air and hit my head on the cabinet above the washing machine.

"Oh, bloody hell..." I muttered, but didn't finish my sentence, knowing my mother would hear it and I would be in more trouble. The doorbell rang again and Mum sighed and went to open the door. I faintly heard voices coming from the direction of the door, found the purple jumper and stuffed it over my head. I ran out to see who was calling, and saw a tall, black-haired woman in emerald-green robes. She looked fierce and rather hawk-like, but with a kind demeanor. She stepped inside and shut the door with a snap.

"Might I have a cup of tea?" she asked briskly. Mum stood gaping slightly at her odd appearance until she seemed to realise that she was staring. She shut her mouth quickly and led the woman into the sitting room. I went to help her make tea and asked what the woman wanted.

"Well, actually, she wants to have a word with you." Mummy said.

"With me? What for?" I actually had a pretty good idea what the woman wanted, but didn't say so.

"I guess you'll have to find out." Mum said, with a small smile. I followed her back into the sitting room, where the black-haired woman sat primly on the couch. Mum handed her the cup of tea and retreated to another seat. I sat down as well and waited for the woman to speak.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am a professor at a school. A school of magic." she said with an air of wanting to get the worst over with quickly. Mum dropped her cup on the ground, where it shattered. She payed it no attention, however, but continued to stare at Professor McGonagall as though Professor McGonagall was completely mental. "A school of magic, called Hogwarts." she repeated. "Your daughter, Lily Evans, is a witch. As am I."

"Excuse me? Lily...a witch?" Mum sounded completely dumbstruck.

"Would you like me to prove it?" asked Professor McGonagall. Mum nodded faintly. "Have you ever made something happen, Miss Evans? When you were angry or upset? Something you can't explain?"

"Um, yes." I said awkwardly. "I can do all sorts of things. Not just when I'm angry or upset, I mean. I can do them conciously."

"That's very interesting..." Professor McGonagall said under her breath. Out loud, she said, "Your powers are surprisingly well developed for one your age. I shall be interested to see what you can accomplish with proper training." She smiled slightly at me and I flushed at the praise. "Now for proof." she muttered and promptly turned her teacup into a gerbil. Mum just gaped at it, still completely lost for words. I nudged her with my elbow and she finally seemed to pull herself together.

"So it's not a- not a joke?" she asked weakly.

"No, certainly not." Professor McGonagall didn't look like someone who would joke. "So, I assume that Miss Evans will be attending Hogwarts in the fall?"

Mum asked, "But where will she get one of them?" she pointed at Professor McGonagall's wand.

"In Diagon Alley." said the professor simply. "I will, of course, give you directions." She pointed her wand at a piece of paper and then mutely handed it to my mother. "A letter containing a list of necessary school supplies will arrive shortly, by owl. But, now I really must be going. It was nice meeting you and your daughter."

At the mention of owls, my mother leaned back in her chair and again seemed lost for words. So I took over. "Thank you very much for coming. It was nice meeting you as well." I said politely. I led her to the door.

"If you need help finding Diagon Alley, simply send a return letter with the owl that has your Hogwarts letter."

"Okay, I will. Bye, Professor!" I closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

I was going to Hogwarts!